Barbie Girl
by LiaBelle
Summary: Danny's got an ex girlfriend who's a walking talking barbie doll. Can anybody say competition?
1. Meeting Barbie

"Danny Messer? Is that you?" A pretty blonde lady approached Danny and Lindsay as they waited in line for their daily dose of caffeine.

"Leila?" Danny asked incredulously.

"Yes!" she got closer and it became obvious that this woman was a living, breathing Barbie doll. She was perfect in every way. Her blonde hair was sleek and shiny against her pink, strapless sundress that hugged her curves perfectly. She had beautiful blue-green eyes and dainty features. Barbie pretty much shoved Lindsay out of the way to embrace Danny, who looked slightly uncomfortable, but hugged her back.

Danny pulled away. "What are ya doin' here?"

"I live her now!" she squealed. "I got a job as a secretary at a doctor's office."

"That's wonderful."

"Isn't it?" She eyed Lindsay as though she hadn't seen her standing there until that very moment. "Are you going to introduce me to your little friend?" she simpered.

_Little friend? _ Lindsay fumed.

"Uh…Leila, this is my fiancée, Lindsay." Lindsay wasn't sure how she should react to the stunned look on Leila's face when she heard Danny say 'fiancée.' "Linds, this is my old friend Leila."

"Old friend?" Leila giggled. "Is that all I am now?"

Lindsay raised an eyebrow and gave Danny a 'you –better- tell –me- what's- going -on' look.

"Ok…. old friend slash ex-girlfriend." Danny confessed, rubbing the back of his neck, a tell tale sign that he was uncomfortable.

"Oh." Lindsay said, unable to think of anything else to say. "It's nice to meet you, Leila," she lied.

"You too," Leila plastered an obviously fake smile on her face. "I'm sure we can be great friends. But, to tell you the truth, it surprises me that Danny Messer is settling down once and for all."

"Oh really?" Lindsay challenged. "And why would that be?"

Leila opened her mouth in preparation to say something, but couldn't think of anything to say and closed her mouth.

"That's what I thought," Lindsay said coolly. "Danny, we really ought to be going. Our shift starts in 10 minutes."

Danny had been silent during the women's exchange, but spoke up. "Yeah…. you're right. Well, it's good seeing you Leila. Maybe we can meet for lunch sometime soon."

"Yeah. That'd be great." Leila answered, a real smile replacing the fake one that she had been wearing.

Danny and Lindsay both picked up their coffees and left the coffee shop. "What was that all about?" Danny asked once they were on the street headed towards work.

"What do you mean?"

"Why were you so rude?"

"Me? Rude? She's the one that was being rude."

"She was not!"

"Was too." Lindsay huffed.

"Seriously, Linds, that was uncalled for. She was one of my closest friends in high school."

"She was more than a friend Danny."

"Don't act like you know everything that went on when I was in high school, Linds. You were off in Montana milking a cow."

His comment stung her, but didn't let it show. "Well, I know what I heard, and I know what I saw."

"And what is that?"

"It is her objective to get you back and she's not going to stop until she does."

"That's insane."

"Is it? I mean just look at her."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You know exactly what that means, Danny." They had just gotten off the elevator on their floor and Lindsay hurried off to find Stella.

"Trouble in paradise?" Flack teased, having overheard much of the conversation.

"Shut up." Danny snapped and walked away.

"I'll take that as a yes."

* * *

"She's like a freaking Barbie doll!" Lindsay screeched. She and Stella had gone to a local café on their lunch break, and Lindsay was filling her in on the events of that morning.

Stella chuckled. "Come on. It couldn't have been that bad."

"It was." Lindsay insisted. "She was all over Danny and he pretended that he didn't notice."

"Linds, men are stupid. They don't pick up on stuff like that. Especially Danny."

"Don't I know it?" She grumbled, referring to the fact that it took Danny forever to notice her constant flirting. She sighed. "Ok. I guess I overreacted a little bit."

"I would say so," Stella laughed.

"But I still don't like her."

"I never said you have to. Just talk to Danny. Make this right. You don't want to ruin your relationship over a plastic doll."

Lindsay laughed. "She is probably partly plastic."

* * *

"I'm sorry." Lindsay burst out. She and Danny hadn't spoken to each other all day long, and by the time that they were in the locker room, ready to go home, she just couldn't stand it any longer. "I got jealous and felt inferior. I'm sorry."

"There's no reason for you to be jealous." Danny told her softly.

"Yes, there is! She's perfect! Didn't you see her?"

"I only have eyes for you," he said as seriously as he could, but Lindsay could see his eyes twinkling, telling her that he was suppressing a smile.

"Has that line worked in the past?"

"Never tried it."

Lindsay rolled her eyes. "Likely story."

"Linds, the bottom line is that I love you, ok? You are the one I want. Sure, Leila's good looking, but you are perfect in every way. You understand me in ways that Leila never did, and nobody else ever will, and I love you for that"

"I love you, too."

He pecked her on the lips, took her hand and led her out of the building. He walked with her to the subway, where they had to part and get on different trains. "I'll call ya tonight, babe." He promised.

"Ok." Lindsay boarded her train and watched through the closing doors at Danny. A sudden wave of sadness crossed her as she thought about the prospect of losing him. She couldn't let that happen, not after she had worked so long and so hard to be able to call him her own.


	2. Barbie Tells it Like it Is

The ringing of Lindsay's cell phone woke her early on a Saturday morning.

"Hello?" she answered groggily.

"Lindsay!" a perky voice exclaimed. "Did I wake you?"

"Um, no," she lied, "uh, can I ask who this is?"

"Oh! Silly me! It's Leila! Danny's old friend?" Every single thing that Leila said was followed by an exclamation mark. It was unnatural for somebody to be that perky at 8:30 on a Saturday morning.

"Oh. Um, hi?" What the heck did she want?

"So, I was sitting at my house this morning and was thinking that I'd love to go shopping! Problem is, I don't really know anybody in New York, so I thought, "Hey! I'll call Danny and get his fiancée's number! So I did!"

"Are you asking me to go shopping with you?" Lindsay asked, still half asleep.

"Yes, silly, I am!" Leila's cheerleader voice was beginning to grate on her nerves.

"Well, I'll call Danny and see if we're doing anything today and call you back." That was a lie, of course, she had no intention of going shopping with a Barbie doll.

"Oh! I already talked to him! He said that Mac called and wants him to come in this afternoon! So, you wouldn't be able to do anything, anyway!" Lindsay was pretty sure that Leila was just acting like this to annoy her. It was working.

"Oh. Ok. Shopping sounds great." She grimaced as she said this, knowing that there was no way that she could get out of this. She had played the Danny card, which Leila successfully meandered around, and there was no way she could play the Stella card, as she was working a shift today as well.

"Super! I'll be there in, say, half an hour?"

"Sure. You know where I live?" Lindsay asked warily.

"Yep! Danny gave me your address!"

"I'll see you soon!"

Lindsay hung up and flopped down onto her back and groaned. She loved shopping, but the prospect of going shopping with Leila made her want to crawl into a hole and never come out. She hit speed dial 2 on her phone and waited for Stella to pick up.

"Bonasera." She answered.

"Stella!" Lindsay wailed. "I just agreed to shopping with Barbie!"

"What? Why?"

"I don't know! I tried to get out of it, but I couldn't!"

"What are you gonna do?"

"Um…get dressed? Try and get through the day? She's gonna be here in half an hour!"

"How did she even get your number?"

"That would be my fabulous fiancée's fault!" she said sarcastically.

"Danny gave her your number?"

"Yes!" Lindsay screeched. "I'm so gonna kill him next time I see him!"

* * *

Leila arrived right on time. Lindsay was outside the apartment waiting, in order to avoid Leila entering her apartment and messing with her things. It just seemed like the thing that she would do. Barbie greeted Lindsay with a hug, which she found somewhat strange seeing as she was Leila's ex-boyfriend's fiancée and they had met a grand total of one time.

"You ready?" Leila squealed.

"Yeah," Lindsay said with as much enthusiasm as she could.

They got back into the cab and headed off. It was an exhausting morning for Lindsay. Leila dragged her from store to store, forcing her to try on the most ridiculous clothes. Finally, around 11 o'clock Lindsay begged Leila to let them take a break. "I'll treat you to lunch!" she exclaimed finally as a last resort.

"Alright!" Leila – still as perky as ever – agreed.

They ate at a cozy outdoor café. They sat down and ordered salads when Leila suddenly spoke up.

"You're not right for Danny, y'know. He's never going to go through with a wedding."

Lindsay's heart began to pound, but she kept her voice cool and even. "Danny's changed, Leila," she said lightly.

"Maybe he has," she shrugged, "but that doesn't change the fact that you're a little farm girl, and I'm a glamorous city girl. He may fool around with you for a while, but he always comes back to me in the end. I've seen it happen time and time again. "

"I'd hardly call getting engaged 'fooling around,' Leila," Lindsay snapped.

"Whoa there! Don't get all feisty with me!"

Lindsay took a deep breath and counted to ten, but it didn't cool her down. "I think that I have the right to get feisty with you, Leila. In case you haven't noticed, I'm the one he proposed to and gave his grandmother's engagement ring, and you're the one that he dumped and hasn't seen since college."

Leila's eyes widened. "Excuse me?"

"Excuse you? Excuse ME!" Lindsay pushed her chair back angrily and stood up. "We're done here, Leila." She threw a wad of cash on the table. "Have a nice lunch." With that she walked away.

* * *

Danny showed up at Lindsay's apartment late that evening. "Leila told me what you said to her, Linds. How could you be so rude?"

"Well, hello to you too, Danny." She shot back.

"Seriously, Linds, she's one of my closest friends! You had no right to yell at her and insult her just because you're jealous of what she and I had!"

Lindsay's jaw dropped. "I'm going to pretend you didn't say that," she said through clenched teeth. "I'm going to pretend that we're being all lovey dovey and we're getting MARRIED in six months. And if you can't go along with this hypothetical situation I've got going, I'm going to ask you to leave "

Danny raised his eyebrows. "Are you PMSing or something? 'Cause this doesn't seem like you."

"No, Danny, I'm not PMSing!" her voice began to rise, "And forgive me if I haven't been myself since your ex-girlfriend has magically appeared and tried to steal you away from me."

"She's doing no such thing!" Danny shouted.

"Men are so blind! Can't you see what's right in front of you?"

"Yes, what's right in front of me is the woman I'm about to marry yelling at me because she can't stand the fact that I've dated other women!"

"Other women? Try half of New York!" Lindsay spat.

Danny groaned in frustration and then attempted to calm down. "Look, Lindsay, I love you. I want to marry you. But I'm not going to marry you if you act like this."

"I'm not going to marry you if you don't admit that you're wrong," Lindsay retorted.

"I'm not wrong! Leila is over me! I am over Leila! There is nothing between us!"

Neither of them spoke. Suddenly, Danny grabbed Lindsay and pulled her to him, kissing her passionately on the mouth. Lindsay resisted for a moment, intent on staying mad at him, but it was too much for her and she eventually gave in.

"Why do you make it so impossible for me to hate you?" she asked breathlessly when the kiss was over.

"'Cause I love you too much to have you hate me."

**A/N Tension, tension! Lol. I'm gonna have a whole lot of fun with this story! Sorry about the long wait for the update.**

**xoxo**

**Lia**


	3. Barbie Interupts

Unfortunately for Leila, Lindsay was not the type of girl who would give up easily. Having grown up on a ranch with 3 older brothers, she knew how to fight for what she wanted. She wanted Danny. She wanted Danny more than she had ever wanted anything before in her life, so she wasn't about to give up without a fight.

Mac unknowingly played a huge part in Lindsay's plan to return Danny's undivided attention to herself, and not Barbie. He approached her early on in the week and told her to take Friday off.

"You look tired, Lindsay. Take a day to get rest."

"Thanks, Mac. Planning a wedding kinda drains the energy out of you."

Mac chuckled. "I would imagine. And I don't think that Danny is really much of a help."

"No, he's not," Lindsay giggled. "His mom and I banned him from a lot of the preparations after he told the caterer that he'd rather eat fried spiders then what she had given us to sample."

"Danny and his big New York mouth," Mac scoffed good-naturedly.

"Don't I know it?"

* * *

Lindsay smiled as she looked around Danny's apartment. Everything was perfect. The candles were lit, the music played softly in the background and the apartment smelled wonderful. And, she looked pretty amazing if she did say so herself. She was wearing a sexy black little number with pink flowers dotting the dark fabric. A matching pink cardigan lay on the couch, perfectly folded and long forgotten. She had arrived early in the afternoon and had been cooking up a storm ever since. And now, everything was perfect.

She sat down in an armchair and sighed. Danny wasn't going to arrive at home for nearly 20 minutes. 20 minutes is a long time to wait when you're waiting to unleash your plan to win the man of your dreams back. She shifted several times, crossed and uncrossed her legs and counted to one hundred and then back to one. She checked her watch. 17 minutes to go. Lindsay did everything possible she could think of to occupy herself. Finally, after 17 more minutes of pure torture she heard the key in the lock. She jumped up, smoothed her dress and hair and walked into the front room. The door swung open and a very tired and scruffy Danny entered the apartment.

"Lindsay?" he did a double take. "How'd you get in here?"

"You gave me a key," she reminded him sweetly.

"Oh, yeah. I did." He seemed slightly disoriented, a side effect of such a long shift. "Something smells good." Following the smell, he wandered into the kitchen, where he saw the table that Lindsay had prepared and the food sitting there calling to him. He turned to Lindsay, who was right on his heals, "You did all this?"

"Yeah," she said, slightly embarrassed.

His face broke into a smile and he took her into his arms and kissed her. She gave into the kiss almost before it even began. Her arms wound themselves around his neck and she drank him in – his spicy scent, his strong arms roaming her over her body, his stubble rubbing up against her soft skin, the feeling of his tongue on hers. "You're beautiful," he murmured in her ear. "I love you like crazy."

For some reason tears filled Lindsay's eyes. He'd told her that approximately a billion times since they began dating, but for some reason this time was different. This time she felt it, like a glowing warmth spreading throughout her entire body. "I love you too," she managed to whisper through the lump clogging her throat.

They stood there clinging to each other for several minutes before Danny's stomach grumbled loudly, causing Lindsay to giggle. "Let's go eat," she suggested.

"Great idea, babe," he laughed, kissing her on the cheek and leading her to the table. He pulled out her chair for her and then sat down across from her. They ate, chatting animatedly the whole time. It was as though time had stopped, and it was just the two of them alone in the universe. Danny's eyes barely left Lindsay's face the whole time, causing him to get food all over his shirt, much to the amusement of Lindsay.

"You're such a slob," she teased him.

"Oh no!" he feigned horror, "you're getting married to a slob! However are you going to manage that?"

"I'm sure I could think of a few ways," she said, a hint of mischievousness in her voice.

"I like the sound of that," Danny teased right back.

"I'm sure you do."

"Dance with me," Danny said suddenly, laying his fork onto the table. He stood up, not even waiting for her answer and walking over to her, extended his hand out to her. She took it, and allowed him to pull her up from the chair and into his arms. She rested her head on his shoulder and swayed to the soft, gentle music playing in the background.

'Tonight couldn't have been more perfect,' Lindsay thought, contentedly, but she thought too soon. The doorbell rang, startling her, so that she snapped her head up off of Danny's shoulder. "Who could that be?" she asked.

"I have no idea." Together they walked to the front door. Danny opened it, and Leila stood, looking like a freaking Barbie doll, with a smile dancing across her perfect face.

"Danny!" she squealed excitedly. She then saw Lindsay hovering slightly behind him, and the smile was wiped off of her face. "Hello, Lindsay," she said in a rather strained voice. "How nice to see you here." She paused, and seemed to be sniffing, and listening intently. "Am I interrupting anything?" she asked in what she had attempted to be an apologetic voice.

"Of course not," Danny said quickly.

"As a matter of fact, you are," Lindsay said at the same time.

Leila flinched, as though it was far too difficult to process what two people were saying at the same time. "Well am I?" she asked, a bemused expression on her face.

"Yes," Lindsay said automatically.

"Nope," Danny assured her, glancing over his shoulder at Lindsay, and giving her a sour look.

"Great!" Leila exclaimed, pushing her way past Danny and Lindsay and into the apartment. "We can all have a bit of fun, then!"

Lindsay stood there, her mouth hanging open, and a hatred she'd never felt before replacing the giddy feeling of happiness and love that had been housed inside her just moments before. "I can't believe you," she hissed, as she strode past Danny and into the kitchen to collect her purse. "I should be leaving," she announced to the two of them, "I have an early shift in the morning."

"Lindsay," Danny sighed, "come on, be reasonable."

"I'm being perfectly reasonable, Messer," she snapped. She never called Danny by his surname anymore, not unless she was royally pissed. Which she was. She snatched her purse up off of the counter and marched out of the apartment.

It wasn't until she was half way home that she regretted her actions. Not only had she left her sweater lying on Danny's couch, but she had given Leila the perfect opportunity to seduce Danny, and turn him against her for good. "How could I be that stupid?" she wailed to the empty New York street. She knew that she couldn't go back now, not after the scene she had made of the situation. Instead, she took a deep breath, and continued home, willing the tears welled up in her eyes not to fall.

**A/N Ik I haven't updated in forever and I'm very sorry. So, review and I'll update sooner this time.**

**xoxo**

**Lia**


	4. Barbie Makes her Move

"Danny!" Lindsay ran to catch up with him as he left work. "Hey, do you wanna do something tonight?"

Danny hesitated. "Um, I think I'm gonna have a guys' night tonight."

"Oh, ok, I'll see you tomorrow then?"

"Yeah, I'd call you, but I'll probably get in late."

"I understand. It's ok." Really it wasn't. He'd been spending a lot of time "with the guys." Lindsay read magazines. She knew what every magazine in the world said about this happening. It normally meant that there was someone else. She didn't need a magazine to tell her who the someone was.

Danny kissed her on the cheek. "See ya," he headed off towards the subway, leaving Lindsay all alone to finish her shift.

"Yeah, I love you too," she muttered at his retreating back.

Lindsay spent the rest of her shift trying to convince herself that Danny really was going to have a guys' night. Neither Flack nor Hawkes were on shift, so it was possible that they were with Danny at some sports bar. However, it was also possible that they were at home watching TV, where as Danny could be out having dinner with Barbie.

"You ok?" Mac startled Lindsay.

"Oh, yeah." She said too quickly to be believable.

"You expect me to believe that?" Mac raised an eyebrow. "Is it Danny?" he asked when she gave no further answer.

"Yeah," Lindsay said timidly, feeling slightly guilty about talking about her fiancé behind his back. "I think he might be seeing his ex- girlfriend, Leila."

"Leila's back?"

"You know her?"

"Yeah. Never liked her too much, myself."

Lindsay choked out a giggle. "Yeah, me neither."

Mac got very serious then. "Danny loves you, Lindsay. I see it every time he looks at you. Just remember that."

"Thanks, Mac."

"Go home. Go talk to Danny." Mac ordered her.

"He's having a guys' night," she said glumly. "Or so he sys. But, I think I'll drop by his apartment. I left a sweater there last week and haven't gotten around to getting it back."

"Have fun," Mac smiled.

"I will," Lindsay said sarcastically.

She left the building and hailed a cab. She gave the driver Danny's address. "Can you wait here?" she asked him, "I just need to run in and pick something up."

"Sure," the cabbie agreed.

"Thanks."

She dashed inside and up the stairs. She fished around in her purse for the key to Danny's apartment and let herself in. She walked into the foyer and froze. Danny and Leila were curled up on the couch watching a movie. Leila's head rested on Danny's shoulder and his arm was wrapped around her.

Danny was quite alarmed to see her, but Leila seemed unfazed. Lindsay spotted her pink cashmere cardigan folded neatly on the counter. She retrieved it quickly and bolted.

"Lindsay!" she was halfway down the hall when she heard him call her name.

"Is Leila a female impersonator?" she asked lightly.

"What? No, Why?"

"I thought you were having a guys night." She said coolly.

"I….uh….well," he stuttered.

"You know what I don't get is why she didn't just give you a lap dance. She was certainly close enough to!"

"We're friends! We're comfortable around each other!"

Lindsay scoffed. "When's the last time you saw me sitting on Flack's lap?"

Danny didn't say anything.

"That's what I thought." She turned on her heel and left, not even turning around when Danny called her name.

**A/N** **Short, ik, but still. Important. Bet you can't wait for the next chapter. **


	5. Barbie Won

Lindsay was sobbing by the time her cab reached her apartment. "I'm sorry," she managed to say as she handed the cabbie a wad of cash.

"It's ok, honey," the driver, an older man around his 50's, said.

Sniffing, she slid out of the cab and entered her building. She cried all the way up two flights of stairs, down the hall and into her apartment. Upon entering, she slid to the ground, leaning up against the closed door. After several minutes of crying her sobs began to die down, but then she glanced down at her left hand and saw her bare finger, causing her to dissolve into tears once more.

After 30 minutes of pure tears, she had a horrible headache and was desperate to talk to someone – anyone. With a quivering chin, she hit speed dial 2 on her cell phone. It rang and rang and she was terrified that it would go to voice mail. Finally someone answered.

"Hello?"

"Stella…" Lindsay wailed.

* * *

Stella knocked on Lindsay's door 15 minutes later, armed with a box of tissues and a carton of Triple Chocolate Chunk ice cream. Lindsay let her in, still sniffling, and retreated to the living room, where she curled up on the couch and cocooned herself in blankets. 

"Linds…. Do you want to tell me what's going on?"

In response, Lindsay pulled her left arm out of the warm protection of her blankets and thrust it in Stella's face.

"What? I don't get- " She stopped abruptly, seeing that Danny's diamond engagement ring no longer adorned her finger.

"Barbie won."

"Lindsay, I'm so sorry."

"Don't be. He's an idiot." She broke out into a fresh set of tears. "I should have known this would happen! Who was I kidding? I'm just a stupid farm girl from Montana!"

"Lindsay, that's not true!"

"Yes, it is!" she insisted, tears flowing down her face.

Stella held out the box of tissues out to Lindsay, who snatched it out of her hands and pulled out one to wipe away her tears. She then spotted the carton of ice cream lying on her coffee table, untangled herself from the blankets and padded into the kitchen.

"What are you doing?" Stella asked.

"Spoon," was her one word answer. She retrieved the spoon and returned to her cocoon on the couch, this time digging into the carton of ice cream.

Stella let her eat for a moment, but then decided that she needed to know the whole story. "Linds, what happened?"

"I gave the ring back," Lindsay said through a mouthful of ice cream.

"I know that, but why?"

"Barbie."

"Care to be more specific?"

Lindsay sighed. "Fine…."

_Flashback _

_"Lindsay!" Danny called her name as she left work and began to walk towards the subway. She ignored him. He ran after her, pushing people out of the way. "Lindsay!" he grabbed her by the arm and pulled her into a little side alley. "We need to talk."_

"_I have nothing to say to you." She informed him, struggling against his firm grip on her upper arm._

"_Seriously, Linds? Are ya gonna throw this all away over nothin'?"_

"_Nothing? You call what you did last night nothing? What you've been doing for the last 3 weeks? That's 'nothing' to you?"_

"_Please enlighten me, O Informed One," he said sarcastically, "what have I been doing for the last 3 weeks?"_

"_You've been spending twice as much time with that Barbie Doll than you have with me. That's what you've been doing for the last 3 weeks!"_

"_Barbie doll?" he repeated blankly. "You mean Leila?"_

"_No, Danny, I mean Stella!" she replied, her voice dripping with sarcasm._

"_She's an old friend! We had catching up to do!"_

"_We're engaged! We have a wedding to plan!" she shot back._

"_Linds, you're gettin' all worked up for no reason!"_

"_I can't believe you!" Lindsay's eyes welled up with tears._

"_Linds, don't cry!" Danny pleaded, a tortured expression on his face._

"_Oh, so **now** you care about my emotions. You're a little late for that!"_

"_What's that supposed to mean?" _

"_It means that you always said that I'm your number one priority, and really, I wouldn't mind if I wasn't. But you're EX GIRLFRIEND seems to be more important to you than I am. You've lied to me, you've ignored me, you've basically shut me out of your life!"_

"_Lied to you? When did I ever lie to you?" _

"_Oh, I dunno, try maybe YESTERDAY! I believe your exact words were 'I think I'm gonna have a guy's night tonight.' Instead, I find you watching a movie at home with your ex girlfriend practically sitting on your lap. I let her make fun of me. I let her tell me that I'm not good enough for you. I let her be cruel and rude to me, and I still tried to give her a chance. But this? I don't think that I can let this go." By now tears were streaming down her face and her voice kept catching in her throat. "Marriage is about trust and loyalty. How can I marry somebody that I'm not even sure I can trust?"_

"_What – what are you saying?" Danny's face was stricken with fear._

_Lindsay slid the ring off of her left ring finger and dropped it into Danny's palm. "Why don't you go give that to Leila?" she asked bitterly and walked away, leaving a stunned Danny standing all alone._

_End Flashback_

"Lindsay! I'm so sorry!" Stella exclaimed when Lindsay had finished the story.

Lindsay shrugged. "Maybe I'll go back to Montana and milk a cow," she said, echoing the words of Leila.

"No! You've got to stay and fight! You've got to show that piece of plastic that you're stronger than she is!"

"It's too late, Stella. The battle's over. Barbie won."

* * *

It began to rain as Danny walked to the subway. He kept fingering the ring – Lindsay's ring – in his pocket, wishing that he could turn back time and make things better. He managed to keep all of his tears in until he reached home when they all came gushing out at once. Normally he'd feel ashamed to cry. As a child his father always said 'Real Messer men don't cry, Danny. It's a sign of weakness.' He didn't feel ashamed now, or weak for that matter. He felt empty, alone. 

There was a knock at the door. Lindsay? Danny took off his glasses and wiped his eyes with the back of his hand, replaced his glasses on his nose and opened the door. His heart sank. It wasn't Lindsay. It was the last person on the face of the planet he wanted to see right now. It was Leila.

"Danny! What's wrong? Have you been crying?" She asked in a rush.

"Go away," he told her.

She ignored him and tried to push her way inside, but he blocked the doorway.

"Danny!" she persisted. "What's wrong?"

He fished around din his pocket and pulled out the ring. "This is what's wrong!" he roared. "I lost the only girl I ever loved and it's all because of you!"

"You got rid of her? Finally! Now she can go back to Farmer Land where she belongs and I can stay here with you where I belong.

"Don't you talk about her like that!" By now the neighbors had begun to come out of their apartments and peer down the hall to see what was going on. "Lindsay was right! You're a shallow, self-centered, conceited Barbie doll! Now go away! And if you ever come back or you ever even speak to Lindsay again, I swear I will break every bone in your body!" he hissed through clenched teeth. With that, Danny went back into his apartment and slammed the door in Leila's perfect Barbie doll face.

**A/N Holy Crapola! I was gonna make you guys wait for this chapter, just out of pure meanness on my part, but you guys were so good w/ reviewing (like 8 in an hour...yeah, wonderful) so i gave to ya! And, before you all get mad at me, ik that "Please enlighten me, O Informed One," line isn't something that Danny would really say...but I really wanted to say it! lol. so there. i'm the author i can do what i want. mwahahaha. ok..next chapter up soon, yes? **

**xoxo**

**lia**


	6. The Aftermath of Barbie

"Lindsay!"

"I have nothing to say to you, Danny," Lindsay said coolly, brushing past him.

This was the only exchange of words that Danny and Lindsay ever had anymore. Danny would see Lindsay in the hallway, or something, and would beg for forgiveness, or at least would try to. Lindsay always refused to talk to him, pretending like she wasn't hurting inside. She cried herself to sleep nearly every night now. She always put on a happy face for Mac and Stella and the others, however, something that she was quite talented at. She had learned long ago to mask her true feelings, as they usually ended with a broken heart. It didn't seem to make any difference in this situation. Her heart was already broken beyond repair.

It had been two weeks. Two long, agonizing weeks since Lindsay had given Danny the ring back. Danny kept the ring with him at all times - in the pocket of his pants, or the inside pocket of his jacket – not necessarily in hope that Lindsay would take it back (which he did hope) but as a constant reminder of how stupid he had been, and how he'd let the girl of his dreams walk out of his life. How it'd been his fault. At least Danny understood that this was his fault. During sleepless nights alone in bed he replayed the last few weeks in his head, and realized things he hadn't seen before. The looks of a mixture of anger and hurt on Lindsay's face every time he talked to Leila, or spoke of her; the numerous attempts she'd made to distract him from Leila. How had he been so blind? Everything he wanted was right in front of him and he'd just let it go away.

He wandered into a bar one evening after work, intent on drowning his sorrows with alcohol. He plunked down into an empty bar stool and sighed. "Bad day?" the bartender asked conversationally, bringing him a beer.

"You could say that," Danny said.

"I'm sorry," the bartender wandered away to help other customers just as Danny heard the tinkling laugh of a woman. It only took him about 3 seconds to figure out whose laugh it was. He swiveled around on the stool and saw Lindsay sitting with a man at a table in the corner. The man had obviously said something hysterically funny, because Lindsay's chocolate eyes sparkled and her mouth was open with laughter. A shot of pain hit Danny in his chest. Had she found a new boyfriend already?

Lindsay looked up suddenly, as though aware that she was being watched. She caught Danny's eye and immediately looked away. "I'm sorry – what was that?" she asked Funny Man somewhat distractedly.

Revenge. That was all Danny could think about. She made him hurt, so he was going to make her hurt. In his drunken mind, he wasn't thinking about all the things he had already done to hurt her; he only thought of what he could do to make her feel the way he was feeling – jealous. Luckily for him, he was an attractive guy, and there was an attractive girl standing next to him at the bar, waiting for the bar tender to get her her drinks. "How ya doin', Sweetheart?" he asked her smoothly.

She smiled. "I'm fine. How are you?" she asked flirtatiously, twirling a lock of her golden hair around her finger.

"I'd be better if I knew your name," Danny told her with a cocky grin.

She sat down in the empty barstool next to Danny. "Alissa. What about you?"

"Danny," he said grinning. Without warning, he reached out and grabbed Alissa's face and crashed his lips onto hers. She hesitated for a moment, but soon gave in to his hot kiss. "You wanna go somewhere?" he asked, his lips hovering mere centimeters away from hers.

"I'd love to," she informed him, nibbling on his lower lip.

"Great." He took her hand and pulled her to her feet. Then, taking special care to walk right next to Lindsay's table so that she was sure to see him, he slung his arm around Alissa's shoulders and steered her to the door.

* * *

Danny arrived to work the next morning with a chipper smile on his face, even though he was dead tired and had a terrible hangover. He wanted to make Lindsay think that his life was a bucket of sunshine.

"You seem to be well rested," Lindsay said icily as she sat uncomfortably in the SUV with Danny on the way to a crime scene. "I would have thought you'd be exhausted."

"Yeah, well, I'm fine, thanks," Danny replied stiffly.

"Glad to see that you've moved on," she said, dying a little inside as she said those terrible words.

"Likewise," Danny shot back.

"What do you mean?" Lindsay asked, genuinely curious as they pulled up to the scene.

"You seemed to be enjoying yourself last night with Funny Man," Danny said sarcastically.

"I was. That was my cousin, Chase. He's in town for the week." She slammed the door.

Danny groaned and buried his face in his hands. "Could I be any more stupid?" he said out loud.

"Nope," Lindsay said. She'd come back to get her kit, which she'd forgotten in the backseat of the SUV.

Danny flushed, embarrassed at having his ex-fiancée/ partner hear him scolding himself.

Lindsay left Danny in the SUV and lugged her kit to the body. It wasn't until she crouched on the ground next to it and painstakingly rolled it over that she recognized who it was. "Danny!" she shrieked.

Back in the car, Danny jumped at hearing his name and bolted to Lindsay's side. Lindsay had tears streaming down her face. He stared at the face of the dead man in front of him. He looked familiar, but couldn't quite place him. Then, with a sudden jolt of realization he placed the man. It was Funny Man

**A/N And the plot thickens…. ha ha. I love this. K, review and I shall heart you forever.**

**xoxo**

**Lia**


	7. Bigger Problems than Barbie

Lindsay was now openly sobbing. "Chase! No….Chase!"

Out of instinct (or possibly just pure habit) Danny pulled Lindsay into his arms and let her sob into his shoulder. She did so for a few moments, until she suddenly pulled away. "Call Mac and Stella," she demanded, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand.

"Ok," Danny said, trying to ignore the jolt of pain that hit him upon hearing her hostile tone. He whipped out his cell phone and called Mac quickly.

"Taylor."

"Mac, you need ta come down ta my crime scene."

"Why? Can't you do it yourself? Don't tell me this is about working alone with Lindsay." Mac scoffed, in a tone very unlike him. Ever since Danny had broken Lindsay's heart Mac had become colder towards Danny, as he had adopted Lindsay as a sort of daughter/sister.

"It is about Lindsay," Danny admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. "The victim is her cousin, Mac."

"Oh. I'll be right there."

"Bring Stella, will ya? Lindsay asked specifically for her."

"Where is Lindsay now?"

"With the body."

"Get her into the car. Stella and I will be right there." With that Mac hung up.

Danny wandered back over to where Lindsay sat and gently pulled her to her feet. "C'mon, Montana. Into the car you go."

"No!" Lindsay insisted "And don't call me Montana. You lost that right when you hooked up with your ex." She took a breath to calm herself. "I'm staying with Chase," she said defiantly.

"No, you're not," Danny insisted. "Mac said ta get you ta the car, so that's what I'm gonna do."

"Good luck with that," Lindsay said stubbornly.

"You've given me no other choice." He said, somewhat apologetically. He leaned over and scooped her up into his arms with ease, much to the protesting of Lindsay.

"NO! Danny, put me down!" she screeched, hysterically, tears streaming down her face. "I want to stay with him! I want to stay with my cousin! Please!" She sounded so weak and vulnerable after her initial hysteria that Danny almost gave into her wishes and let her stay with her cousin. He did what he was told, however and took her to the car where he waited with her until Mac got there.

"Linds, are you ok?" Danny asked gently an hour later as she sat in the locker room.

She scoffed. "What kind of question is that? Seriously, Danny, do you think I'm ok? That's what everybody asked me after I gave- " she stopped. She was going to say 'after I gave your ring back.' She took a deep breath. "I'm not ok, alright? Just leave me alone." A tear tracked down her face.

It hurt Danny that she was in pain. He wished more than anything that she would let him comfort her, but he knew that he wouldn't. Not after the way she shoved him away when he tried to hold her. Not after all that crap with Leila and after she saw him leaving with Alissa. He'd ruined everything, and it made him hurt as well. Every tear that she shed that he didn't kiss away for her made him die a little more inside. "Ok," he said quietly and stood up to leave. He was halfway out the door when she called after him.

"Danny?"

His heart swelled as he turned around to face Lindsay, who in his opinion looked more beautiful than ever, even with her hair in a tangled ponytail and her face red and puffy from crying. "Yeah?"

"Thanks for asking. If I'm ok, I mean," Lindsay said somewhat shyly.

"No problem." He smiled and closed the door behind him.

**A/N Short, ik, don't hurt me please. Inspiration has been on the weak to not even there side. I'll try and do better next chapter….promise.**

**xoxo**

**Lia **


	8. Repairing Barbie's Damage

Lindsay rolled over in bed, willing herself to sleep. She had just arrived back home from Montana where she had flown to attend Chase's funeral. She had come to New York to escape the pain that being there brought her, and all those terrible memories were flooding back over her now as she lay in bed all alone, tears streaming down her cheeks. Flashes of things she thought that she had put behind her now haunted her thoughts. She wished now, more than ever, that Danny were there to comfort her. She longed to feel his arms around her and to hear his voice telling her that it would be ok.

Finally she gave up trying to sleep and padded into the kitchen. She rummaged around in her freezer until she found what she was looking for - Triple Chocolate Chip ice cream. Ice cream had been her comfort food of choice ever since that night that Stella had brought some to her. She yanked open a drawer and pulled out a spoon. She plunked down at the table and began to eat the ice cream straight out of the carton. Her tears fell into the open carton, giving the ice cream a faint salty taste.

She hadn't stayed at her fathers' house during her weeklong visit; she got a room at a local hotel room. She wasn't sure that she could handle being with her father and step mother every second of every day. In fact, she was sure that she wouldn't have been able to handle it. They weren't on the best of terms. She and her step mom were constantly at each other's throats and Lindsay's dad always took Marie's side. Always. No matter what the argument was, no matter if it was very obvious that Lindsay was right, he always sided against her. She hardly spoke to her dad the whole time she was there, in fact. She was never close to her father, they had kind of a "hello, how are you doing?" kind of relationship, the kind you had out of politeness, not one that you had because you really cared.

Lindsay half-heartedly shoved more and more ice cream into her mouth, trying desperately to block all the bad memories, but it just couldn't be done. All she could think about was all the times she and Marie had a shouting match, all the times her older sister told her that she wasn't good for anything. But the one memory that stuck out more prominently was that of her mother's death and funeral. She had only been 12 at the time, and was obviously devastated. The thing was, that she was the only one who seemed to be upset by it. Her older sister Mary Beth brushed it off like it didn't even matter and her father gave himself an entire 6 months to grieve before running off to Vegas to marry Marie.

Ice cream normally helped her drown her sorrows, but not this time. Triple Chocolate Chip confectionary goodness just wasn't cutting it this time. She needed someone. She needed Danny.

Lindsay always occupied Danny's mind. No matter where he was or what he was doing, it was her that he thought of. 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. Seriously. She was all he cared about anymore, which made it hurt even more that she still refused to talk to him. The wall that she had built between them was slowly being taken down, but it was such a slow process. Danny knew that he had hurt her, and the death of her cousin didn't make it any faster, but he missed her. He missed her so much that it physically hurt him. He couldn't sleep anymore. The thought that her warm body never being cuddled up to his again haunted him. He would roll over and over in bed, trying to find a comfortable position, but there wasn't one. He had become so accustomed her sleeping with his arms around her that it just didn't feel right without her there.

He was tossing and turning when his cell phone chirped. He rolled over to the bed side table and checked Caller ID. It read "Montana."

**A/N Ha ha. Ik what's gonna happen….and you don't. lol. K, sorry. New chap us soon, yes? There's only going to be one more chapter. Maybe two... but prolly not.  
**

**xoxo**

**Lia**


	9. No More Barbies

Danny stood outside the door to Lindsay's apartment for a few minutes before knocking so that he could regain (or at least try to) his composure. It had been obvious that Lindsay was crying when she called him, and he had rushed over to her apartment with out a second thought. Now that he stood there – mere feet away from her – he was questioning his decision. What did she want, anyway? All she had said was "Can you come over here?" Danny agreed at once, and that was the extent of their conversation. For all he knew, he was coming here so that she could kill him. He made up his mind and hesitantly knocked on her door. He heard shuffling in the apartment, signifying that she was making her way to the door.

The door swung open, and there stood Lindsay, her hair a mess and her face swollen and red with tears. Once again, Danny felt his heart break at the sight of her in so much pain. "Can I come in?" he asked, tentatively.

She sniffled, nodded and then stepped aside so that Danny could enter the apartment. He followed her to the living room, where she had set up a cocoon of blankets, not dissimilar to the one she had created the night the engagement was called off. She snuggled down into the blankets without saying a word.

"Lindsay..." He began, not knowing exactly what to say.

Tears began to flow down her face once more, much to her disgust. She tried with all her might to holding them in, but it was no use. Danny's face fell. He was making her cry. Again.

"It took flying to Montana for my favorite cousin's funeral to realize something." She half whispered.

"And what was that?" Danny asked, encouraging her to go on.

Her lower lip quivered slightly. "I need you," she whispered, "I don't think that I can function without you. I know that I screwed everything up and pushed you away and that my tears are my punishment for that."

"No, Lindsay," Danny said, moving closer to her, "I'm the one that screwed it up. I'm the one who had everything that I could ever want right in front of me and not even see it. I'm the one that pushed you away. You're right, I lied to you and I ignored you and I don't blame you if you can't forgive me for that." Danny was getting a little choked up himself.

"I – I just didn't want Marie and Mary Beth to be right," Lindsay said weakly. Danny, of course, knew all about Lindsay's horrible stepmother and sister. "They always said that nobody would ever love me because I don't trust anyone and I push them away. I want somebody to love me." She paused and took a deep breath before adding, "I want _you_ to love me."

A lone tear slid down Danny's face, and he wiped it away roughly. "I do love you, Lindsay. I'll always love you. It doesn't matter if you love me back or not, I will always love you." More tears followed the one that had slid down his cheek before, and he tried to wipe them away, but there were too many of them. But then a small, soft hand reached out and began to wipe the tears away. Danny raised his head up slowly and met Lindsay's chocolate eyes with his cerulean ones. Without a word, he pulled her to him and held her tightly in his arms. She welcomed his embraced and squeezed back with equal force.

"I missed you so much," she sobbed into his ear.

"I love you, baby," he said, tears clogging his throat. "I love you so much. I'm never going to let you go again, I swear."

She lifted her head off of his shoulder and met his lips with hers. She sighed slightly at the contact; Danny's kisses were like magic. The kiss grew deeper as Danny tangled his hands in her already tangled hair and pulled her closer (if that was possible) so that there wasn't a part of his body that wasn't touching her.

Danny wanted to give her the ring back, but was hesitant to ask. He didn't know if she wanted to take it slowly, or if she was ready to pick up where they left off. On a better note, of course.

After several more minutes of kissing, Lindsay reluctantly tore her lips away.

"What?" Danny asked, slightly disappointed.

"Could I…." She stopped, and almost rethought what she was going to ask. "Would it be possible for me to have the ring back?" She bit her lip nervously, a gesture that Danny thought was irresistibly sexy, but cute all at the same time.

Danny, of course, still carried the ring around with him everywhere, so he reached into his coat pocket and pulled it out. "Lindsay Monroe, will you be my wife?" he asked, even though he already knew the answer.

"Yes," she whispered, allowing him to slide the ring onto her finger, and then kissing him again. "On one condition," she said suddenly, causing Danny to worry a bit. " You have to promise," she kissed him gently. That if we have any kids," she kissed him gently. "And any of them are girls," another kiss, "You won't buy them any Barbie dolls."

"I can promise you that," Danny promised, smiling at her. "No more Barbies."

**A/N And that's a wrap. So…whadda ya think? To sequel or not to sequel, that is the question.**

**xoxo**

**Lia**


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